First, A Hard Winter Training
"We must undergo a hard winter training and not rush into things for which we haven't prepared."
— Epictetus, Discourses
Today's meditation is a very interesting read and it can be compared to trading too.
The most important thing to remember as traders, is that we must get to know our strategies inside out and back to front, so that we can then execute and fully manage our trades to completion; for a targeted profit or a controlled loss.
This means that we must practice day in day out and the more familiar we are with our strategies, the more confident we will become. By doing this on a regular basis, it will help us to consistently make the right decisions.
We are constantly evolving and developing on our trading journey, so we can't afford to do this half-heartedly, if we want to become the best that we possibly can be!
The last sentence from today's meditation should really resonate with us all, if we are taking this trading path seriously and I quote; "We are always preparing for what life might throw at us--and when it does, we're ready and don't stop until we've handled it."
If we change this to "preparing for what the markets might throw at us" all of our practising and learning will stand us in good stead, to be able to react swiftly and without hesitation, to what we are seeing, rather than we we hope to see. This gives us an extra edge of course, because due to the historical stats/data that we have at our disposal, we know that we will be right many more times than when a trade is going against us. As long as we manage the trades that are going against us early enough, we will be profitable in the long term, which is our aim of course.
So "First, A Hard Winter Training." It will take time, but with patience, discipline and an unwavering persistence to stick to the plan/rules/criteria, you will get there! You've got this, so get out there and do it!